grilled cheese-gate: a SNACKSPOSE

so a very perceptive and trusty New York snacker brought to my attention a snack scandal the full extent of which I cannot yet understand.

let me start at the beginning.

April 2nd was National PBJ Day. We didn't know why, but it was only one day, and they had a cute logo. Then we learn that the entire month of April is GRILLED CHEESE MONTH. Now you know I love a grilled cheese, so don't even think accusing me about bias, but to quote my source:

"Do we think Grilled Cheese deserves a whole month while PB and J gets only a day? I’m not saying its wrong, I’m just bringing up the discussion. Also, who decides these things? Which sandwich gets a day and which a month? Its further insulting that PB and J gets a day within Grilled Cheese Month. Should it not, at very least, have its own day on a different month?"

So I hop on the 'net and discover that "National Grilled Cheese Month" was created back in 2001 as part of a marketing campaign launched by the American Dairy Association. They even wasted some of Congress' time presenting them their plan which included promotion of the website www.ilovecheese.com. This website still exists and has a feature on it that I look forward to learning (and TELLING you) about called the "snackulator," clever dairy folks, very clever.

YET, there is no mention of National Grilled Cheese month. The people who created it are no longer observing it, YET the underground, rogue dairy fans have kept it alive, influencing even the mainstream media who can't get enough of grilled cheese this month. Both the New York Times AND New York Magazine have run suspiciously favorable (although a touch pretentious, brioche? raw milk Comté? you're killing me) pieces on grilled cheese. Is that all it takes to create a national holiday, mere suggestion of an abandoned marketing campaign brought to you by the goons from "Thank You For Smoking" and you get a big wet kiss from the Gray Lady??

Readers, I want you to know that SnackManiac will never fall for that kind of peer pressure. I write about the snacks that matter.